Some New Photos

My buddy Thomas from B.C. has been snapping away, while we've been climbing away, and here are some more shots that he has put up on his flickr. (Just click on the part that says 'his flickr' to get to the photos)

More Rain

Today was another rain day down here in El Paso. Who would have guessed that it would rain this much down here in the desert?!

The weather was pretty awesome here the last few days though, and yesterday was a great day of climbing. In the morning we started out warming up in a new area that I had not been to before, and I flashed a slew of problems in the V0 - V1 range for a good warm-up. After that we ran up the hill to a classic V4 called T-Bone Shuffle that I was lucky enough to get a flash on. My hardest flash while in Hueco. After that I saw quite a few more great problems but none that I was able to get sends on. Hopefully, after today's rest, I'll be ready to head back out and get some more projects out of the way in the next bit.

Here are some of the items on my must do list before I leave:

Martini Hotbox - V9

A Smooth Move - V8

Daily Dick Dose - V7

Baby Face - V7

New Religion - V7

Roughage - V7

Uncut Yogi - V6

Baby Martini - V6

See Spot Run - V6

Jigsaw Puzzle - V5

Wicicala Cave - V5

Bloody Flapper - V4

Moonshine Roof - V4

100 Proof Roof - V3

Ghetto Simulator - V2

Melon Patch - V0

Some of my sends so Far:

Bloodline - V6

Honeycomb Hideaway - V5 (Second Go)

Schadenfraud - V5

Lobster Claw - V5

Unknown - V5

T-Bone Shuffle - V4

Unknown - V4

Sign of the Cross - V3

Not as much as I would like to say that I've been getting done, but you have to start somewhere. I've definitely been able to tell that I'm starting to get a little bit better at climbing on roofs, which was definitely my anti-style before coming out here. Hopefully, I'll get some more things done here soon!

A Few Pictures...

Wicicala Cave - V5

Sign of the Cross - V3

Photos by Thomas Burden

Rest Day

It is rainy in El Paso, so that means today we're going to be getting plenty of rest.

It seems like everyone has the same ideas too, as there are like 20+ climbers that have flooded the local coffee shop, Primo's, and we are sucking the bandwidth down to nothing. The rest is much needed and I hopefully the rain will give our skin some time to do some re-growing.

The Hueco part of this trip has been amazing. I still maintain that this is one of the most beautiful places around too. Even with the rain this morning the sunset was unbeatable.

The climbing here has been something to adjust to though. The style here has a lot of crimps and is pretty powerful. Two things that are definitely not in my strengths category. After four days of consistent pulling though, I think that my body and fingers are starting to make the adjustment. Luckily I still have some time to get fully acquainted and hopefully I'll get some good sends along the way.

So far, I've only managed a V6, V5, and a few other miscellaneous climbs. However, the quality of climbs here is just mind blowing. The V6 I finished, Bloodline, was a line that just recently went up, and is undoubtedly the most amazing climb I've ever been on. I also sent a couple classics yesterday Lobster Claw V5, and Sign of the Cross V3; both are climbs on the must do list for The Tanks.

I'm hoping to find some good projects here along the way too, and am confident that I can pull out some sends that are going to be pushing my personal limits. Nothing like getting stronger. Here are a few pictures that I've managed to steal and snag from the camera on my computer!

My dirty moustache:

Gone!:

Rainy North Mountain. The view from my car window, and where the sun rises every morning.

Bloodline V6. The most beautiful line that I've ever climbed. I stole this from another climber's site.

Photo: Joe Kinder

Hueco

Well today was my 4th day of being in Hueco Tanks, and I'll have to admit it, I am absolutely getting my ass kicked on everything I touch. It is quite disheartening. My skin in unusually bad too, and has never seemed to recoup fully from the beating that it took down in Rocktown.

Either way, Hueco is a beautiful place. One of the most beautiful that I've ever been to. Every sunset and sunrise is better than the last, and it is hard not to be psyched with all of the strong men and women hanging around down here.

I'm pretty tired though and think that I'm just gonna close this one off short though. Hope everything and everyone is doing well!

Adios Arkansas

Well today looks to be the last at the Hartlerode house hold for me. I really enjoy being here; there is great discussion, food, and a feeling of home that makes me hesitant to leave.

The climbing has been a lot of fun too, and my skin is destroyed. The last three days have been spent at Horseshoe, Fountain Red, and Area 74. All amazing sandstone crags, that will make your tips bleed from the ultra-high friction slopers.

It looks like we'll spend tomorrow doing a little more pulling at HCR before heading further south back to Conway, AR where Wayne goes to school. On Thursday it looks like I'll then move west to Austin, TX to hang with a few friends from the Y, and then on to the final destination of Hueco Tanks.

I'm beyond psyched and can't wait for the interesting change of scenery. Hopefully the camera will be up and charged by the time I get there. I need to get on the ball.

Moving on up...errr...west

The past week and a half has been a whirlwind, and I've nearly been out on the road for two weeks now. Most of my time has been spent at Rocktown outside of LaFayette, Georgia, but the weather has caused me and my car to move locations.

Yesterday, with Wayne, I headed out from Rocktown hoping to escape the snow storm that was sweeping across the south. Great plan in theory, but it just landed us on top of another mountain north of Chattanooga bouldering at a crag known as Little Rock City. It was a good day, but cold to say the least, and snow was plentiful. After a few hours at the crag, and some nagging on my behalf, we finally bailed; and just in the nick of time since they closed that solid sheet of ice/road off 20 minutes later, and would have stranded us on the top of the mountain.

We ended up fleeing all the way to Nashville that/last night and hung out with Kevin Bogard and his family for the night. Early this morning we then rolled on out towards the Arkansas area, and I now find myself in a strangers apartment with a full belly and at a state of near exhaustion. It is good to be here though, and we have plans to climb on through Tuesday or Wednesday after which it will be off to the beautiful establishment of Hueco Tanks. I can't say enough about how psyched I am.

Still no pictures or video. I need to do a better job.

Georgia. Brrrrrrr...

Today was cold. 28 degrees to be exact. Haven't experienced such mind-numbing coldness in a long long time.

I've been out in Georgia now for nearly a week climbing here at a great sandstone bouldering crag. The times have been great and I've met some great people and enjoyed the climbing a lot too.

Today I made it in to the nice little town of La Fayette for the first time and it is a really nice, quaint town. Reminds me a lot of home. Made it a point to get a shower and I feel like a new man. I also picked up some gloves which makes my hands all happy.

No pictures or videos to share at the moment: being in Krystal's parking lot bumming internet doesn't help the matter either. Either way, the trip is going well and I've found some great projects for the remainder of this weekend and the rest of the next! Can't wait for Hueco in a few weeks!